Eighty Letters (2011)
"Osmdesát dopisu" (original title)

The story takes place in Czechoslovakia in 1987. The father has defected to England and the mother and her son are planning to leave the country to reunite with him. The film is told ... See full summary »

Director:

Václav Kadrnka

Writers:

Jirí Soukup (screenplay), Václav Kadrnka (screenplay)

Stars:

Zuzana Lapcíková, Martin Pavlus, Gerald Turner

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Zuzana Lapcíková	...	Mother
Martin Pavlus	...	Son
Gerald Turner	...	Englishman
Andrea Miltner	...	Englishwoman
Martin Vrtácek	...	Doctor
Radoslav Sopík	...	Officer
Frantisek Brezík	...	Man in Waiting Room
Vlastimil Homola	...	Doorman
Hana Brezíková	...	Nurse

Storyline

The story takes place in Czechoslovakia in 1987. The father has defected to England and the mother and her son are planning to leave the country to reunite with him. The film is told through the eyes of the fourteen year old boy, his rankled look without the veneer of experience and initiation in one day. His mother moves about in an intensified daily routine, mapping it out hour by hour. He catches up with her on that path but she must act alone in order to achieve their reunion

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Plot Keywords:

year 1987

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Details

Country:

Czech Republic

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

21 April 2011 (Czech Republic)

Also Known As:

Eighty Letters

Filming Locations:

Zlín, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bystrouska

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ"
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Organ performed by Albert Schweitzer
Courtesy of M.A.T. Music Theme Licensing Ltd.

User Reviews

"It's always the details that take roots in your memory, never the whole."

Osmdesát dopisu | Eighty Letters

Czech Republic 2011

The most gorgeous, luminous film I've seen this year. Every shot is a masterpiece. A film essay on the interface of aesthetics and humanity, composition and the human experience.

A boy searches for his mother in the early morning commute. Mother and son want to go to the UK to reunite with the father who has emigrated there ahead of them.

A lesson in attentive observation. A most closely observed sound design. The scratching of a pen.

A mother's perfectly organized file. "If they throw me out one door, I'll come in another." Two brilliant actors playing mother and son, maestro Zuzana Lapčíková and the genius Martin Pavluš. Re-creating the great silent film actors. Falconetti.

Two moments of score as the past comes alive – Arvo Pärt. Accompanying old classroom photo, and letters the two read together.

"It's always the details that take roots in your memory, never the whole." Re-creation of documents and journal must have been a formidable task.